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In a unanimous vote Tuesday, Ruidoso village councilors passed a resolution directing the village manager to prepare an amendment to the municipality’s policies to allow employees with valid conceal-carry licenses to bring weapons to work.

The proposed amendment will be brought back to the council for a vote at its May 8 monthly meeting. Staff has examples from other government entities to review.

Councilor Joe Eby, who proposed the change to employee rules that now ban weapons, began by reading the resolution, which specifies the right to bring a gun to work is subject to a valid license and approval by the village manager, police chief and the director of the department.

The resolution points out that the federal and state constitutions guarantee the right to keep and bear arms, and noted that recent tragedies have highlighted the “need for individuals to be able to prvide for their own safety in an emergency situation.”

Only persons with New Mexico permits to carry a concealed weapon would be considered, Councilor Tim Coughlin said. That’s important, because some other states have reciprocal agreements or less stringent requirements than the license renewal and skill recertification every two years required in New Mexico.

Joe Eby asked for the resolution to be placed on the agenda for discussion and possible action.(Photo: Dianne Stallings/Ruidoso News)

“I know that this will be unpopular with some people, but I believe this is a conservative community and I believe that they see the need,” Eby said.

Many “what ifs” have been asked, he said. But looking around the state and country at incidents of violence in government facilities, churches and schools, other entities already have passed similar policies, include city of Roswell, Eddy County and Otero County.

“The Chaves County Commission chairman said the same thing,” Eby said. “They passed it four years go and they have had zero incidents.” He also spoke to entities outside of New Mexico who have taken action.

Being a small, close-knit community no longer is insurance that children and employees are safe from violence, he said.

He’s been told “We don’t need everybody carrying guns,” Eby said. “This isn’t everybody. They must have a New Mexico license. Only 2.7 percent of the adult population in New Mexico have conceal-carry state licenses.”

Those with licenses have extremely low run-ins with the law, he said. Citing statistics from the Center for Crime Prevention, Eby said law enforcement officers are seven times more likely to be convicted of a misdemeanor or more serious crime than conceal-carry holders.

“We need to take a good hard look at this and recognize what is going on around us,” he said “I see it as making a statement to those who would perpetrate evil against the village and a statement to employees that we care about you and want to give you the opportunity to increase safety.”

Councilor Rafael “Rifle” Salas asked about insurance and liability, if an amendment is approved.

Lee said the self-insure pool manager “is very nervous about this, but he also recognizes the changes in the world and things that have happened.”

He advised on careful wording and that he be given a copy of the policy “so he can defend it if something did occur,” Lee said.

No increase in premiums will occur, because they are based on the claims, she said. If claims outweigh what an entity has paid into the pool, it has to pay more. If claims are less, an entity is given a credit for workman’s compensation and general liability, she said.

Eby said he was told the village could be sued either way, for not providing the protection of concealed weapons or providing it.

“My preference is I would rather the employees be able to protect themselves and be sued, than not,” Eby said.

As a former village employee, Salas agreed with the needed safety, but said he thought a provision for carrying a weapon already was in place. Lee said the policy now states that no weapons are allowed on employees and vehicle unless approved by the village manager or police chief.

“What it lacks is a policy on who can be authorized and how,” she said. “We have to come up with a process.”

For instance, with the airport 15 miles north of the village, employees are isolated and special considerations may apply. Lee said. Village firemen have asked about when they can carry, because they often beat the police department to a scene of something such as domestic violence requiring emergency service. “They want to be able to carry,” she said.

“The issue I’ve had personally is if comes to the point that I’m looking at everyone here, saying I’ll let Councilor (Gary) Jackson do it, but not Councilor (John) Cornelius,” Police Chief Darren Hooker said. “Why not? He looks different? That ambiguity doesn’t need to be there. If you have a valid license and certification and don’t have any non-going issues like domestic violence, then O.K.”

Coughlin said if someone is going to carry a concealed weapon, it must be concealed at all times, because if the employee removes a jacket and the gun is exposed, it could be intimidating.

“Everybody sitting here in the audience tonight, none of you know if we have conceal-carry permits and we are carrying, and that’s the way it should be,” he said.

Department directors should be notified of who is carrying, he said. “That director can watch to see if an employee is showing signs of aggression and we may need to hold that permission away from them,” he said.

Lee agreed directors should be informed and have input, but not be part of the decision.

“You want to make sure the record is clean,” she said. “People who have filed grievances, who are going through divorces or lost a loved one, or the Patriots lose the Super Bowl, those might be reasons to cause somebody not to act in their normal behavior. There is a fine line, because you can’t interfere in someone’s personal life.”